Objectives

To analyze the benefits of a school-based condom availability program relative to the risks that such a program may incur.

Methods

A confidentially-administered survey instrument was completed by 152 randomly selected high-school students (approximately 14% of the entire student population).

Results

The respondents had a mean age of 15.9 years (range : 14-19 years) and a proportionate gender distribution.

Ninety-three percent of all respondents had « heard of » the school's program and knew from whom they could receive condoms.

Twenty-six percent of the respondents had received condoms from the program with 67% using them.

Of those receiving condoms but not using them, more than half did not need them, owing to absence of anticipated sexual activity.

Of the nonreceivers, 53% had never had sexual intercourse and 27% received condoms from other sources.

The benefit of the program by aiding a sexually-active student was found to be more than three times as great as the risk of encouraging a nonsexually active student to have sexual intercourse (RR=3.2 ; 95% C.I.=2.1,4.9).

Conclusion

Given the lack of increased sexual activity and the favorable benefit-risk ratio, we conclude that school-based condom availability is successfully utilized by sexually-active adolescents and may be an effective means to reduce potentially harmful outcomes, such as unintended pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases.